Teaching a horse to canter

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chancing

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My new mare cant canter I dont think its she wont canter I think she just doesnt understand. How would you go about teaching her? shes about 10-12

thankyou
 
My Mare is like this, will go into the fastest trot and a few strides of cantre, then back to trot,she is an older mare so interested in any reply.
 
We've taught out on hacks, with a lead horse. Nice long, straight line steady canters :D. These have been youngsters, but I don't see why it wouldn't work for older horses.

Also, I have no idea about your riding, but the number of times I've seen people try and get a canter from a rising trot, with very little in the way of leg aid and no seat. Make sure that the horse is balanced and together and that the aids are clear.

Plus the usual re. horse health/fitness/tack/teeth/bit.
 
I agree, try teaching her out hacking behind another horse in the first instance. Also, don't let her get too fast in her trot and panic if she doesn't canter when you ask her. Slow the trot down, then alternate between asking for more impulsion and collection in trot. When she's really listening to you and she's nice and balanced, ask again using the correct aids. If you're in a school it's easier to ask for canter coming out of a corner.

Canter is the most unnatural gait for a horse and if she's not done much cantering before, it will take a while. Don't worry about how many times you have to ask, just don't let her rush into a faster trot when you do ask and really praise her if she gets it right! Good luck!
 
i go into sitting trot and give strong leg aids however it could be a problem with me that might not be helping. I am due to start lessons 3rd week of april but just wanted to get a head start and was interested in people opinions. She is an older mare and like you said mrs m goes into a mega fast trot and then 2 strides of canter and back to mega fast trot. Nightmare!!
 
In that case, unless you can go for a hack and get the canter lead from another horse, stick to getting a nice steady trot in the school. Practice the walk to trot and trot to walk, doing them with the horse going nice and steady, no rushing or dawdling. Then when you start your lessons, your instructor will be able to see what the canter problem is and sort it out then :)
 
Get someone to video you and you may see where the problem is. Before asking for canter get the trot balanced and forward going without the horse running faster. When you ask for canter make sure you are not tipping forwards and hanging onto the reins, as this will unbalance her. Give with your reins, sit back and think 'canter'. Your body language will enable the horse to canter and stay in canter. As soon as you tip slightly forward you may unbalance her and she'll drop back to trot. When she does this, don't reward her by slowing down, establish the trot again and ask for canter again.
If you are worried that she may get to fast and strong, you may subconciously be holding on to her mouth and stopping her going forwards.
With youngsters, like MM, I teach mine on hacks behind another horse. It is quite tricky for them as they tend to want to run faster and launch themselves into canter like a small bumpy plane taking off. Give them their head to balance, sit quietly, bring the trot back and allow them to copy the one in front. Don't worry about stopping, getting them to go forwards is the main objective. They'll stop with the other horse(s).
 
My mare has only been ridden for about 2 years now and she is 16 - I have taught her to canter recently and now she has the most beautiful balanced canter but I would say its taken about 8 months to get there - I started off only cantering out on hacks just up on my knees letting her find her balance and just the odd gentle sit and half halt when needed. Once she was understanding the aid okay I started doing a little in the school but again just up on my knees and letting her find her way then across the diagonal and on the other rein equally.
Once she could canter a 20mtr circle happily I introduced walk to canter which helped alot and have always insisted that when I ask her to go she goes - dont grab the reins back and always reward when you get the correct response. If the balance really suffers just come back to trot balance up and ask again and insist if she doesnt respond from a leg aid - dont kick and tip forward maintain your position and quickly follow up the leg aid with the whip and reward as soon as you have your response! x
 
horserider said:
Get someone to video you and you may see where the problem is. Before asking for canter get the trot balanced and forward going without the horse running faster. When you ask for canter make sure you are not tipping forwards and hanging onto the reins, as this will unbalance her. Give with your reins, sit back and think 'canter'. Your body language will enable the horse to canter and stay in canter. As soon as you tip slightly forward you may unbalance her and she'll drop back to trot. When she does this, don't reward her by slowing down, establish the trot again and ask for canter again.
If you are worried that she may get to fast and strong, you may subconciously be holding on to her mouth and stopping her going forwards.
With youngsters, like MM, I teach mine on hacks behind another horse. It is quite tricky for them as they tend to want to run faster and launch themselves into canter like a small bumpy plane taking off. Give them their head to balance, sit quietly, bring the trot back and allow them to copy the one in front. Don't worry about stopping, getting them to go forwards is the main objective. They'll stop with the other horse(s).
Click to expand...

What excellent advice and all of the things you have said 'dont do' i.e. tip foward, hanging onto the reins etc i actually do and it's no wonder my mare is struggling with canter.

Talking of small bumpy planes taking off by mare actually feels like a rather large jumbo jet crash landing lol....
 
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